Application of zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIF-8)/ionic liquid composites modified nano-carbon paste electrode as sensor for electroanalytical sensing of 1-hydroxypyrene

Abstract 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OHP) is an important biomarker for evaluating human exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). In this work, a simple sensor based on nano-carbon paste electrode modified with zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIF-8)/ionic liquid composites was developed for convenient and fast electrochemical detection of 1-OHP. The structure of ZIF-8 and the morphologies of different electrodes were investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The electrochemical behavior of l-OHP on the constructed modified electrode was studied using differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). Under the optimized conditions, the fabricated sensor gave a linear calibration curve of the concentration ranging from 0.05 to 20 μM with a detection limit of 0.01 μM for 1-OHP. The proposed method was successfully applied to the determination of 1-OHP in urine samples with the recoveries of 94.2%–103.2%.